


What Life is All About

by StarLight_Massacre



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: M/M, Minor Clint Barton/Phil Coulson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-06
Updated: 2013-05-31
Packaged: 2017-12-04 11:54:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/710516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarLight_Massacre/pseuds/StarLight_Massacre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Potter was sent to America on Ministry business, through this he meets Nick Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Twelve years later the Avengers Initiative is put into play after the Tesseract is stolen by visiting alien, Loki. How will Harry find the Avengers and will the battle of Manhattan go smoother with Harry Potter on their side?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Life's Big Challenge

**Author's Note:**

> Author: StarLight Massacre
> 
> Title: What Life is All About
> 
> Rating: M
> 
> Warning: Slash, M/M, language
> 
> Pairing: Nicholas Fury/Harry Potter
> 
> Summary: Harry Potter was sent to America on Ministry business, through this he meets Nick Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Twelve years later the Avengers Initiative is put into play after the Tesseract is stolen by visiting alien, Loki. How will Harry find the Avengers and will the battle of Manhattan go smoother with Harry Potter on their side?
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter or the Marvel universe; all rights go to J. K. Rowling, Marvel comics and Stan Lee. I make no money for this piece of fictional writing and never will.
> 
> A/N: For the sake of my sanity, because Marvel just love playing around with their characters, Nick Fury is 50 in this fic, because according to Marvel he was born in the 1920’s, like Steve Rogers, so he’d be 90 otherwise and my brain can’t be doing that. Thor is the oldest, then Steve, but he’s caught in his 20 year old body because he was on ice, then it’s Nick, at 50, Coulson is 42, Natasha is 34 seeing as according to Marvel she was born in 1928 and should be 84 otherwise, then Bruce at 33, Tony at 32, Harry is 32 also, but 2 months younger than Tony and then Clint is 31.

 

What Life is All About

Chapter One – Life’s Big Challenge

 

“You’re stressed again.” A soft voice broke through Nick Fury’s eight time daily massage of his aching, throbbing temples.

 

“I can’t see how the Avengers Initiative is going to work.” He groaned, sitting back when soft, smooth and gentle fingers took over his massage, making him relax all the tension in his body as the pain receded.

 

“You’re thinking too hard Nick, they need to work it out on their own, they need to clash and rub together before settling into an ordered group. They’re testing one another.”

 

“They’re not doing it quick enough.” Nick grumbled as his lover of ten years moved from massaging his temples, to his neck and shoulders, allowing him to relax further.

 

“Unfortunately these things can’t be rushed, it takes time. Now if you had taken my suggestion of bringing them all in to get used to one another _before_ a worldwide disaster hit, we wouldn’t be having this problem.”

 

Nick wouldn’t help the wry smile that took over his lips. “The Avengers Initiative was shut down; I knew just looking at them all separately that they’d never be able to work well together, too many chiefs and not enough Indians.”

 

“You don’t give them enough credit, they’ve been plucked from the four corners of the world, brought onto a giant flying aircraft carrier, shoved together and told they have to save the world. Give them a chance to get over that first.”

 

Nick could almost hear the frown on his partner’s face and he spun around in the chair to look into the beautiful, youthful face of his lover, Harry James Potter, who was thirty-two now. He was frowning hard and Nick almost smiled.

 

“We don’t have time to give them a chance to get along Harry. They’re supposed to be mature, rational adults, though I suppose that was too much to ask with Stark on the team.”

 

“They’re good people; they just rub each other up wrong. Though Tony and Bruce are getting along just fine, if the good Captain would leave them alone long enough that is and Natasha is just being a loner, none of us expected to lose Clint, he’s a good man, a good Agent, to have him under enemy control is very dangerous, we need to get him back.”

 

“Agreed, but whatever is controlling him is strong, the man shot me!”

 

Harry’s mouth twitched and a small smile broke through.

 

“Agent Barton knew you were wearing a vest, deep down he aimed for your chest on purpose, he could have aimed and hit your head Nick. He’s a master marksman, he can hit a target dead centre without even having to look at it, and we all know it, he could have aimed and hit any other part of your body not protected by the vest, but he didn’t, deep down he’s still in there, he just needs to be knocked to the forefront again.”

 

“Allow me to do the honours.” Nick grumbled as he pulled Harry close by his hips, covered in the tight, S.H.I.E.L.D issue, all in one jumpsuit, that he slyly and unashamedly ordered a size smaller than Harry would have normally worn, he was human after all and Harry never made a single moan of complaint about the tight suit and it thankfully did not restrict his movement or his gun draw, it just accentuated Harry’s gorgeous body, a win-win situation according to Nick.

 

Harry chuckled deeply and bent his head to rest a soft cheek against his lover’s bald head.

 

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” Harry said softly.

 

Nick pulled Harry in tighter then, moving his legs apart to pull Harry’s body between them, hugging his waist and letting out a long sigh.

 

“I’ve got to get back to the bridge.”

 

“You were supposed to be back in the bridge ten minutes ago.” Harry told him pointedly.

 

“Someone’s got to fly this monstrosity.”

 

“You created this monstrosity.” Harry grinned.

 

“That I did.”

 

“What do you want me to do?” Harry asked.

 

“Try and get those idiots to get on with one another.”

 

“I’ll do my best Nick, you know I will.”

 

“You always do.” Nick smirked and pressed a kiss to Harry’s lips, pulling him in close before letting him go and standing up, they walked to the bridge together.

 

Their relationship wasn’t strictly secret, Coulson, Barton, Romanoff and Hill all knew, as well as a few select others, but most Agents and employees of S.H.I.E.L.D didn’t see what was there because they didn’t want to. They preferred to think of Harry as available so they could flirt with him at will and couldn’t wrap their heads around their fearless leader actually having human needs and didn’t want to see the relationship between the two that was laid bare before them.

They didn’t flaunt their relationship around like a couple of teenaged sweetheart lovers, but all the signs were there for someone to pick up on if they so wished, unfortunately most weren’t observant, perceptive or nosy enough to pick up on it and the other smaller percentage conveniently ignored it.

Nick went right to the control panel and checked on anything he might have missed, while Harry slipped into a seat at the large table behind him, next to a very confused looking Captain and started speaking to him softly and encouragingly.

Nick felt better about the whole Avengers Initiative, he had his very best Agent on the case after all and he was confident in Harry’s abilities to forge something out of nothing. Harry was a miracle worker after all, a magic worker, Nick controlled a secret smile, he was the only one who knew of Harry’s abilities, if anyone could do the impossible on this Helicarrier, it was Harry.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X

 

Harry had left the overwhelmed Captain feeling much more reassured and happier than he had looked when Harry had first joined him. He went to find the two resident geniuses and found them squabbling over what looked to be a graph of something. The word Gamma radiation was passed between them, so Harry assumed it was to do with the search for the Tesseract.

 

“Is there a problem here gentlemen?” He asked softly.

 

“You wouldn’t understand.” Stark bit out surely.

 

Harry nodded his understanding instead of arguing, if a genius told him he wouldn’t understand, he probably wouldn’t.

 

“Is there anything I can get for you?” He asked instead, offering himself up to be helpful, it was really the only way to be actually noticed by these two particular men and he needed to get on their good side.

 

“Coffee would be great.”  Stark answered with the bite gone from his voice, he sounded tired without it.

 

Harry smiled happily. “Coming right up Mister Stark. Doctor Banner, can I get you anything?”

 

“Coffee sounds wonderful, thank you.”

 

Harry liked Bruce Banner, even if he was wary of him, probably due to his magic reacting to ‘the other guy’ as the good doctor called him, but Bruce was such a soft, shy man that it was easy to come to like him, despite the Hulk being inside him, watching and waiting every single moment of every day for a chance to get out.

Harry went to a nearby break room and made two large mugs of coffee for the two men, knowing from observing them how they liked it by now and he took a small vial from his belt and put just a few drops of calming draught into Bruce’s coffee. It wouldn’t stop the Hulk from exploding from the doctor if anything happened, but it would ease the man down and help him relax just a smidgen.

Harry carried the two mugs back into the lab room that the two geniuses had taken over and handed them their respective coffees, getting a grunt from Stark, who was engrossed with something and a shy thank you from Bruce.

 

“If that’s all you require gentlemen.” Harry inclined his head and left them to it, hopeful that he had made some sort of impression on them.

 

He went to go and hunt down the Black Widow, who was hiding somewhere on the Helicarrier away from population, moping about her very good friend Clint being compromised. He found Agent Coulson instead, Clint’s lover, who smiled at him.

 

“How’s the assignment going?” He asked curiously.

 

“I could use some help to be honest. Stark is being Stark, I can’t find Natasha, Bruce is a lovely man and our resident Captain is confused as hell and can’t quite believe he’s in an aircraft carrier that can fly chasing after a demigod from another planet, who can control people’s minds and has a power he thought lost, that can level the Earth.”  

 

“You take the geniuses and I’ll handle Tasha and the Captain.”

 

Harry nudged him with a grin. “Have you shown him your cards yet?”

 

Coulson smiled, refusing to be embarrassed and shook his head. “No, not yet.”

 

“Maybe you could bond over them, he’s a very patient, attentive man when he’s listening and he’s very kind.”

 

Coulson smiled at the praise to his personal hero and they walked to the bridge together, Harry deciding it best to leave the geniuses for an hour or so before disturbing them again. He’d heard that Stark hated being interrupted when he was working on something.

He went and stood at ease next to Nick, observing the bridge and everyone around working, they had every camera they had access to, which was a ridiculous amount, scanning for Loki, Harry hoped they found him soon, Harry wanted Agent Barton back, he was a personal friend and he knew that though he refused to let it show, Coulson was worried, and he wanted Loki secured under S.H.I.E.L.D control, the man, demigod, was dangerous.

It was only an hour later, when the ragtag group had all been called to the bridge, that they had any luck. Harry was trying very hard to ignore Stark, who it seemed once he wasn’t being distracted by work and genius things, took actual note of him, most particularly his bum in the tight S.H.I.E.L.D suit and he was sure Nick was half a second from drawing his gun and shooting the man.

 

“I mean, fuck can you fit underwear under that thing? Perhaps you’re wearing a thong; I’d like to see that.” Stark commented.

 

“Shut up Stark!” Captain Steve Rogers hissed, embarrassed and morally outraged on Harry’s behalf.

 

“You fancy a go at him too Cap? I didn’t think it was your style, though I must say Agent Sexy is certainly worth it.”

 

“I don’t wear underwear under the suit Mister Stark.” Harry told him tonelessly. “Not since that one incident in Sirkka, do you remember Phil?”

 

Coulson smiled and let out a little laugh. “Of course, I couldn’t forget that, I have no idea how you got yourself into that mess, I would have thought it impossible.”

 

“That’s enough!” Fury snapped and Harry took in a breath, he’d be covered in possessive marks come tomorrow morning, nowhere visible, but then the suit covered almost everything except his head, hands and feet, so the non-visible parts were quite numerous, Harry smiled internally, Nick would ensure he enjoyed tonight’s activities.

 

“Can you people kindly keep your minds on your jobs and not on harassing my Agents!”

 

“Except you pulled us from our jobs to come here.” Tony snarked.

 

The beeping of monitors and a fellow Agent shouting that they’d found a cross match of Loki in Germany silenced them all and Fury sent the group that would hopefully become the Avengers to go and capture him.

As the Quinjet was cleared for leave and was then gone, Nick gave Harry a look and left the bridge with a purposeful stride. Harry grinned; it seemed that they weren’t waiting until tonight after all.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X

 

As Director of S.H.I.E.L.D and the creator of the Helicarrier, the ‘presidential’ suite that was Nick Fury’s personal rooms were a lot larger than anyone else’s and Harry was thankful for the extra space, which meant they had a double bed and a full en suite bathroom.

Harry was snuggled up with Nick, who didn’t really mind the cuddling as long as they were in private, recovering from an incredible bout of sex that had left him breathless, bruised and unable to move. He groaned as he flopped over his body from his side to lie on his stomach, his lower back protesting the small movement.

Nick was smirking at him all smug and proud and laid a hand on the swell of his pert bum, possessive after Tony’s comment about how good it looked in his jumpsuit. He stroked the baby soft skin and looked at Harry, lying on his belly, arms folded under the pillow, cradling his head, eyes closed and mouth parted slightly as he rested.

Harry truly was a very beautiful man, inside and out, and Nick knew he was a very, very lucky man to have such a strong, dependable and loving man as Harry, who had stood by him for all the years he’d known him, even when Nick had actively tried to avoid him and push him away, but Harry had always been there, never faltering, never leaving, never taking any notice of his bad moods or his downright violent rages.

It was destined to end in either death, or a relationship, and Nick believed he’d chosen right in seizing Harry’s offered love when he had as he moved to partially lie on Harry’s sweat covered back, ringing his finger around a deep set imprint of his teeth in the skin there. Harry never minded, in fact he actively encouraged Nick to bite and mark him and he was all too happy to comply.

A knock on his door had him glaring and fighting down a snarl.

 

“What?” He bit out sharply.

 

“You’re needed back on the bridge Director.” Coulson’s smooth, amicable voice told him. “They have captured Loki and picked up Thor along the way.”

 

“I’ll be out in a minute.” Nick grumbled, standing up to stretch.

 

He took a wet wipe from the packet Harry kept on their nightstand for occasions such as these, cleaned himself off before dressing once again. He couldn’t help pressing a kiss to Harry’s soft, pliant lips before he left.

 

“I’ll join you in a minute.” Harry mumbled sleepily just as he opened the door. “I just need to find my legs first.”

 

Nick smiled accomplishedly as he left for the bridge to debrief Thor of the situation and hear what had happened with Loki, leaving his lover in his bed for a while longer. He had a group of petulant superheroes to round up and control.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

 

Harry watched the man on the screen consideringly. He was trying to interpret anything, anything at all, from their captive, though like Bruce had said, he screamed of crazy and Harry couldn’t pick up much from him.

 

“What do you see?” Nick asked him.

 

Harry shook his head. “Not much, I’d need to talk to him to decipher anything conclusive, but he’s…hurting.” Harry said hesitantly. “He fully believes what he says, I watched the footage from what he said to the crowd in Germany and he believes every word that he says. As Bruce said, he comes across as insane, but the way he’s going about everything is methodical and precise. He knows what he’s doing, why and what he needs to do next, he has a plan, but is he actually as insane as he’s making out to be, is it a ploy to throw us off or is there reason behind his madness? I can’t tell I’m sorry, I’d need to talk to him.”

 

“Are you a shrink?” Stark asked from the table behind them.

 

“No.” Harry replied easily. “I’m an Agent and part of the medical personnel Mister Stark, as you no doubt already know, but I can also read body language, subtle hints and usually I can get a read on someone by listening to them talk, but Loki…” Harry shook his head again and sighed. “He’s confusing; he’s a contradiction that doesn’t exist. If he’s as insane as his words belie him to be, then he shouldn’t be able to keep to a strict plan. Truly insane people are all over the place, doing something just because it seems like a good idea to them at the time, but Loki isn’t like that, but he truly does believe the words he’s saying, which would make him insane.”

 

Harry shook his head yet again and pushed away from the monitor to look at them all, including the newly arrived Thor.

 

“I can’t get an accurate read on him I’m sorry. He’s a contradiction, but one thing for certain is that he’s a very dangerous individual.” Harry said, looking apologetically to Nick.

 

Nick clapped him on the back lightly, aware of the bite marks, knowing exactly where they were located, and gave him a reassuring look even though his mouth remained a tight, severe line.

 

“You’ve done your best Agent Potter; no one else on this ‘carrier, can read body language like you can so no one has any room to bitch at you.”

 

“Do you know what he’s planning?” Someone asked Thor and Harry stiffened right up along with the large man.

 

“Of course he doesn’t.” Harry cut in placatingly. “Don’t you read any debriefing reports? Thor hasn’t seen his brother in a year, maybe more if time on Asgard passes differently. None of us know what happened to him in that time.”

 

“My brother was never like this!” Thor insisted, turning to Harry, perhaps realising he had an ally in the smaller, slighter male.

 

Harry nodded and smiled understandingly, making himself appear approachable to the larger man. It worked better than Harry would have thought as Thor approached him and gripped his forearm tightly.

 

“Please help him, he was never like this, what he says, it makes no sense, my brother always chose his words carefully, we called him silver tongue at home on Asgard. He has care of what he says; this is not my brother as I knew him!” Thor insisted harshly.

 

“I’ll see what I can do for him Thor, but I can’t help him if he doesn’t want to help himself.” Harry said sadly.

 

“I understand, but I would be greatly indebted to you if you would but try.”

 

“Agent Romanoff, go and talk to him first, see what you can gauge, Agent Potter, if you would watch to try and find any inconsistencies with his mental state and body language, we need to know what he has planned next.”

 

“Capturing him was too easy.” Harry nodded in agreement. “He wanted to be caught for whatever reason and he wouldn’t allow himself to be caught if he didn’t have an escape plan or a rescue plan in place, we need to remain aware of that as well as try to find out _why_ he wanted to be captured in the first place.”

 

Natasha stood up. “I’ll go and find out what I can.”

 

Harry sat down and linked his tablet to the cell room and watched Loki pacing, ambling really, like he was out for a soothing walk in a scenic park. He wasn’t nervous, he wasn’t bothered by the fact that he was locked in an impenetrable cell, it just wasn’t getting to him, he seemed fine and relaxed from his body language and Harry reported this to Nick, who was watching on the big screen.

The other Avengers members wandered off, though Stark murmured that he was going to see what the strange gold Sceptre with the Tesseract blue stone was, Bruce went with him and Steve wandered away with Thor, Harry didn’t pay them much attention, they were on Coulson’s watch at the moment, not his.

Loki stiffened up when he sensed Natasha nearby and Harry watched the smile that slid onto his face. He studied Loki and the things he was saying as he and Natasha talked, then argued, then he was taunting and shouting at her about her ledger and Clint, telling her how he’d force Clint to kill her and he looked every part as crazy as Harry had already observed, but it was when he slipped about Bruce that Harry looked to Nick with wide eyes.

Natasha reported in her findings, but Nick and Harry were already on the way to the lab that Bruce and Stark were holed up in.

The anger and the arguing over the phase two weapons that Stark had hacked into and Steve had found was immense as everything degraded into petty arguing and screaming, anger bubbling and overflowing, fighting and screaming about anything and everything and it had Harry fearing for the Avengers Initiative, but he wouldn’t give up on them, he’d make them a team even if it ended up killing him.

A small prick in his mind had Harry stilling suddenly as he assessed the wards he’d put around the Helicarrier, even as everything went to hell around him.

 

“Nick!” He called out panicked, cutting through the screaming and yelling, which trailed off in the face of his very real panic. “There’s a remote controlled explosive on engine three!”

 

“Hill!” Nick called out immediately, pressing his com device, moving to the door to get back to the bridge. “There’s an explosive on engine three, get a look at it and disarm it immediately!”

 

But it was too late; the explosive was detonated and it blew apart the lab they were in just as a computer in the lab started beeping furiously. Harry was blown out of the glass windows and down two levels, landing hard on his side on the steel catwalk. His lungs shrunk as all the air in his body was forcibly expelled and he was unable to draw in another breath. Everything was white noise as it went to hell in a hand basket around him as he struggled to draw breath and when he couldn’t draw in breath after a minute he panicked, which made it even harder for him to draw in a breath.

 

“Harry?! Harry?! Answer me _now_ damn it!” Nick’s voice came sudden, demanding over the com in his ear and Harry raised a hand slowly, he pressed against his chest and actively worked on stopping his panicking, Nick needed him and panicking helped nothing and no one. He calmed down enough to take a deep, gasping breath and then another and another until he was breathing heavily and deeply, but near enough normally as the Avengers all checked in their locations and wellbeing, moving off to see what they could do.

 

“Harry?!”

 

“Here Sir.” He replied as loudly as he could, pressing the com device in his ear with a blood covered hand.

 

“Where are you?!” Nick demanded, his worry and fear making his voice curt and harsh, but Harry paid no mind to it, he knew Nick too well by now.

 

“Down…down about two levels S…Sir. Get to the bridge; I’m just…just a bit…breathless. I’ll meet you there.”

 

“You had better not be lying to me Harry.” Nick threatened before the com went silent and Harry let his hand fall away and just focused on regaining his breath.

 

He sat up as the noises around him filtered through, screaming, shouting, yelling, gunfire, heavy metal things being destroyed. A roar had him up on his feet, paling as he realised Loki’s plan had worked. The Hulk was unleashed, loose on the Helicarrier.

Harry ran as fast as he could, his leg bleeding, his body aching and his lungs burning, but the Helicarrier had been infiltrated; they needed to secure the Sceptre and secure Loki. Harry made his way up to where he was before the explosion and the lab room was practically gone. He saw where Bruce must have fallen and saw the Sceptre laying just a little way away from the gaping hole in the floor going down to the next level.

He crouched down, ignoring the pain in his leg and his hip as well as the rest of his body as he strapped the Sceptre to his belt tightly before testing it to make sure it was secure and wouldn’t stab him if he walked or ran. He had just finished when two men wearing S.H.I.E.L.D issue uniforms rushed into the room, saw him with the Sceptre and fired at him with assault rifles, Harry guessed they were some of those who had infiltrated the Helicarrier and he let himself fall down the hole to the level below before running, despite the screaming in his body that told him not to.

The bastards behind him gave chase and a bullet or two nicked him, but it was nothing to worry about and Harry was good at weaving and dodging as he fished out his wand and aimed it over his shoulder and set up a deadly trap to take them out.

When he emerged he was in the containment room, the Helicarrier falling as they lost engine one through a malfunction, even as Stark and Steve tried to fix engine three and Harry felt his breath leave him as he saw Thor vanish in the glass cell meant for the Hulk, he let Loki leave, he couldn’t take him on without backup and the man would hear him if he called for help, he did however spot Coulson against the wall and felt the blood drain from his face.

He rushed to stabilise the man, thankful now for six years medical and healing training as there was no way anything could have been done for Phil without magic being involved.

 

“You’re going to be fine Phil.” Harry assured him as he cast spells and repaired the serious damage done to his body.

 

“I can feel myself slipping, I’m clocking out.” Phil told him, Harry was thankful that he seemed unable to move his head, his eyes on his face as Harry healed him with his wand.

 

“You clock out now and I’ll make sure I punish you the next time we spar and I’m sure Clint will have a few choice words to say to you as well. We’ll get him back Phil, I promise.” Harry told him as he weaved his magic around Phil, healing and repairing him as quickly as he could as all sorts was shouted in his ear.

 

Harry felt confident that he had fixed the most serious and life threatening of the damage done to Coulson and breathed in relief; he healed up some of the harder to get to injuries and the lingering damage done, just to give Phil an easier time and a shorter recovery in the med bay.

He sighed out in relief, which turned to a gasping, wet choke as a rapid burst of gunfire went off and a searing pain in his body alerted him to someone behind him.

He twisted and fumbled his gun out of its holster and tried to get a hit on the man hiding behind the wall. His stomach lurched as he realised there were two of them.

 

“Medical…medical to containment level.” He gasped through his com. “Agent down, Coulson needs medical personnel, I’m pinned down by heavy hitters with…with assault rifles. Been hit, not sure what damage has been done, I’m going to try to take them, requesting backup.”

 

Harry was vaguely aware of someone shouting at him, but he couldn’t hear anything, he’d gone back to white noise, he fired his handgun twice, catching the one target off guard as he peeked his head out to fire some more and Harry actually managed to hit the bastard with the assault rifle, but the man had gotten in a good round of bullets into his back as he healed Phil, it might already be too late for him, but at least he had taken his attacker down with him.

He crawled over and checked on Phil, praying he hadn’t been hit by any of the bullets or it was all for nothing, but he was relieved to find him well and breathing, no new damage and he looked to be unconscious.

A tugging on his belt and Harry lurched to retrieve the Sceptre from the second target who he hadn’t noticed had approached him, but he was kicked in the shoulder twice and he choked on a mouthful of fluid, which tasted faintly metallic. Blood.

Darkness pressed in against his eyes and Harry’s arms fell from under him, he tried to keep breathing, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. A heavy, rough hand touched his face and he just knew that Nick was there now. He tried to say something comforting, to let his lover know he was actually awake and was going to be just fine, but he couldn’t get the strength to do so, the darkness became oppressive and he fell unconscious with Nick’s hands still on his face.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X

 

Nick Fury was absolutely livid as his two best, top Agents were downed and in the med bay, it didn’t help that one of those top Agents was his long term lover. He was in a foul mood and he made sure to take it out on what was left of the Avengers, inviting them to see where Agent Coulson and Agent Potter had almost died together because of Loki. The amount of blood pooled on the floor and splattered on the walls was enough to hike his blood pressure through the roof.

Nick knew just from where the two Agents were positioned what had happened. It was obvious that Coulson was downed and Harry came across him and healed him with magic, being caught off guard and shot in the back by rapid fire by one of the hostiles who had infiltrated the Helicarrier. He’d be having a stern talk with his lover when he got out of the med bay.

The Widow was with a recaptured Barton in one of the personal infirmary rooms, Hulk was fuck knows where and Thor had gone down in the cell, again he didn’t know where or if he was still alive, he was left with the Captain and Stark, the two who couldn’t work together to save their own lives, let alone anyone else’s. He told them as such before dismissing them, getting to work on trying to fix what he could of the Helicarrier and working on getting engine one back online.

He watched them on the cameras though, seeing them walk to the med bay where Harry and Coulson were laying side by side, both as patched up as the medical personnel could get them, both still unconscious.

The two Avengers talked with one another, looking at the two men who had been downed fully believing that the Avengers Initiative could work, he had told them both as much again.

He watched as they were shooed from the med bay, only to go to the containment room where Thor had been lost and Harry and Coulson had almost died, he’d ordered the clean-up crew to leave the room for this purpose, so they could see the blood and the damage that had been done.

Fury watched as Stark obviously thought of something before moving off and suiting up, the Captain went to the Infirmary room which held Natasha and Clint and he spoke to them seriously and they spoke back before all leaving together, they got on a Quinjet, that he knew damn well Barton could fly easily and took off just a second after Stark. He smiled; the Avengers were almost all together after all, now if they could locate Banner and Thor and get them to battle, perhaps something of this could be salvaged.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

 

Harry healed quicker than anyone expected and as soon as he woke up, he sneaked out of the med bay and went to slip up to Nick, resting against him more than he would have if he hadn’t been injured. A large hand slipped around his waist as they spoke together in low, even tones, Harry being filled in on what had happened and Harry telling Nick what had happened in the containment room.

 

“You should still be in the med bay.” Nick told him quietly.

 

“I’ll be fine Nick, the world is being invaded by hostile aliens from another planet, I’ll rest when I’m sure I’ll wake up without the world being destroyed or under the rule of Loki.”

 

“They seem to be doing well so far.” Nick told him, handing a com device over to Harry, who slipped it into his ear, hearing the battle as the Avengers spoke to one another.

 

“I told you, you needed to give them time.” Harry said smugly.

 

Nick snorted. “Time and you and Coulson almost dying, idiots the lot of them.”

 

Harry chuckled and allowed Nick to manhandle him into a chair, standing in front of him protectively as they watched what they could of the battle from the screens located around the bridge.

After being told that Thor and Bruce had made their way back to the battle, Harry grinned at the back of Nick’s head, he had just known they wouldn’t leave the fight to the others alone, that they would re-join the Avengers and fight together as a team.

 

“Alright, stop with the smug look.” Nick snarked. “I can feel your grin boring into the back of my head without even looking at you.”

 

“You know me too well.” Harry huffed. “But I did tell you that you were too cynical, the Avengers Initiative is a success.”

 

“They haven’t won yet.”

 

“They will, give them time.” Harry chuckled.

 

“Watch your mouth or you’ll be back in the med bay with Coulson.”

 

“I’d rather be here, Phil’s not good company at the moment, he’s still unconscious.”

 

“Maybe I should get the nurses to sedate you, an entire evening of peace.”

 

Harry couldn’t help but laugh at that. “If you had wanted nice, quiet evenings full of peace you never would have taken me up on my offer and swept me off of my feet Nick. Our Anniversary is coming up next week, eleven years.”

 

“If we survive this, I’ll take you to that restaurant that you like.”

 

“As long as I get a lengthy dessert I don’t care where you take me.”

 

“Is that so?” Nick smirked as he turned to look over his shoulder at him.

 

Harry grinned back, still as cheeky as he was as a teenager, giving Nick a saucy wink and laughing, going back to the battle in his ear, he wanted to help, of course he did, but he couldn’t go out there with his wand in hand, throwing out spells left and right, he’d obliterate the Statute of Secrecy with all of the media cameras and reporters roaming around, which had been heightened, tightened and rock solid ever since Voldemort had almost outed their entire existence to the Muggles fourteen years ago and without his wand, he was just another man, not a superhero or anyone who could help, he’d just be in the way of the real heroes, plus he’d probably give Nick several heart attacks and a stroke. He was sure that if Nick didn’t keep his head completely bald, he’d be as grey as concrete by now thanks in part to some of the dangerous stunts and missions he’d pulled over the years.

 

“Sir, the counsel is online for you.” Maria Hill told Fury and Harry narrowed his eyes.

 

“Tell those bumbling, incompetent fools to fuck off and leave us alone, we’re doing fine by ourselves, we don’t need their useless input.” Harry snarled.

 

Nick smirked and let his hand gently run across his shoulders and back as he walked past.

 

“I’ll deal with them, you stick with the Avengers.” Fury told him.

 

Harry blew out a breath and focused on the battle in his ear.

 

“It’s good to hear you’re back with us Agent Barton.” Harry told him when he heard Clint’s voice on the com.

 

“It’s good to be back Sir, but I was told you were downed in action, shouldn’t you be in the med bay?”

 

“Me and Coulson both, but like you, who should also be in the med bay, I’m currently AWOL from those touchy-feely nurses.”

 

“I bet the Director doesn’t like that.” Clint teased with a knowing hint.

 

“He’ll get over it.” Harry assured. “What does it look like from where you’re standing?”

 

“Horrible, those things are everywhere and Loki’s flying around still.”

 

“No personal vendettas Clint, that’s not what S.H.I.E.L.D. is about, we’re actively looking to capture Loki alive.” Harry stressed sternly.

 

“Yes Sir, understood.” Clint actually sounded pouty and Harry smiled.

 

Nick came back in with a face like thunder, yelling orders and shutting down the air flights.

 

“What’s happening?”

 

“The counsel has decided it’s a brilliant idea to nuke Manhattan.”

 

Harry’s eyes widened and he stood up quickly, stumbling into Nick’s arms on clumsy feet before regaining his balance, standing up straight and looking at his lover seriously.

 

“Are you serious? They’ve decided to nuke Manhattan? Just like that, with civilians, innocents and all still on the island, they do know the radiation from the blast will likely affect New York and the surrounding cities as well yes? It’ll probably affect the entire East side of America! They know that marine life will be obliterated and people’s lives wiped out, an entire city and all of its people destroyed, yes? That it’ll take decades for the radiation to slip down to acceptable levels for human habitation once again.”

 

“They know perfectly well, which is why I told them it was a stupid idea and refused to do it, all flights are restricted, no one is to leave this deck. No one!”

 

Harry sucked in a breath and clenched a fist, how dare anyone think that they had the authority and gall to play with people’s lives like that, that a nuke was the answer to this situation, just blow up the entire of Manhattan and everything would be fine and carry on as normal, it made him so angry.

 

“Stop stressing about it.” Nick told him softly, laying his hands over Harry’s clenched ones.

 

Harry blew out a breath and calmed himself, before looking up at Nick softly. “Do you remember how we met Nick? All this drama is making me think back to how we met, to when I first saw you.”

 

Nick snorted. “Of course I remember, you were the annoying little brat that followed me around like a sheep I couldn’t get rid of.”

 

“I was your bodyguard, you weren’t supposed to try and get rid of me.” Harry chuckled wryly.

 

“You were a five foot four, one hundred and twenty pound, twenty year old; I didn’t want you guarding my body.”

 

“No but you wanted to do something else to my body didn’t you?” Harry winked and Nick snorted, he still wouldn’t admit that he had lusted after Harry from the moment he had first seen him, though Harry already knew. Harry always knew.

 

“I still don’t understand why the British Ministry sent you over as a bodyguard.”

 

“I’ve told you, all American high profilers were being targeted by the remainder of the terrorist group left over from the war.” Harry said softly. “You lucked out and got me to guard your gorgeous body.”

 

“But why you? You’d done your part.”

 

“My part was never over, there was too much to do, too many hostile people missing and unaccounted for and when the threats came in to hit the American high profilers, just because they wanted revenge and Britain was locked down and too hyper aware of them, Britain sent it’s best to America to protect you from our mess. Of course as one of the best I was sent over and got paired up with S.H.I.E.L.D’s Director.”

 

“I still have no idea how your terrorists knew who I was or what S.H.I.E.L.D was or your government for that matter.”

 

“You are a registered branch of the government, even if you don’t advertise yourselves.” Harry pointed out. “Any and all high profile Muggles in government were targeted so therefore needed to be protected.”

 

“I’m glad it was you I got stuck with.”

 

“Even if you didn’t think I was up to the task.” Harry grinned.

 

“I still asked you on a date.”

 

“That’s all you thought I was good for.”

 

“No. Not then, at the beginning maybe, but after you saved my life twice in the same week, I began to think differently. When I asked you on that date, I knew very well that you were up to the task, that you’d do what needed to be done, never think that I only asked you on that date to be a trophy wife.”

 

“I’d have had a few choice words with you if I had ever thought you saw me only as a trophy wife.” Harry answered wryly. “It still took you a year to ask me on that date though.”

 

“It took me a year to get over the fact that I had feelings for my twenty year old bodyguard.”

 

Harry chuckled. “I was twenty-one by the time you asked me out.” He reminded his lover softly. “I had to prove my age to the waiter and the management at that stupid restaurant that we are never going to go back to just to get a bottle of wine served at our table.”

 

“I regret that lost year.”

 

“I know you do, but you were a stubborn man and I took my position very seriously and I put my job first. We were both stupid and we danced around one another too much for that one year.”

 

“Eleven years could have been twelve.” Nick murmured thoughtfully.

 

“Any amount of time I spend with you I cherish.”

 

“Don’t go all soft on me now.”

 

Harry smiled. “You know I like being soft every now and then, especially around our anniversary.”

 

Nick groaned. “Do I have to buy you flowers and chocolates? Perhaps a cute, little teddy bear holding a heart saying I love you on it.”

 

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Harry scowled. “But dinner and a night with you, waking up to find you still in the bed with me and not already in work would be nice.”

 

“Fine, I’ll treat you to breakfast in bed as an added bonus.”

 

“Does breakfast include morning exercise afterward?” Harry grinned.

 

“You know it does, you have an unlimited pass to the Fury gym.”

 

That made Harry laugh and he pressed his forehead against Nick’s chest before stepping back and breathing in deeply.

 

“We have a battle to oversee, but if we don’t all die and get overthrown by aliens, I’ll hold you to that anniversary date Nick.”

 

Harry was very happy as he tuned back into the battle to find that they were in a worse state than anyone could have anticipated, the aliens were numerous, their ‘mother ships’ or ‘giant flying eel like whales with huge teeth’ as Barton had commented, were destroying buildings left and right and civilians were getting hurt.

 

“This is getting out of hand, they need help.”

 

“They need to close that portal.” Nick growled.

 

“Sir! We have a bird on the runway!” Maria shouted out.

 

Harry cursed and followed Nick as he ran off the bridge, picking up a crate, setting up a rocket launcher and running out onto the deck and firing at the plane, Harry breathed a sigh of relief when Nick terminated the threat, only for another bird to start up and take flight, Nick took out his handgun, knowing it was pointless but doing it regardless because he couldn’t do nothing, but Harry pulled out his wand and threw a reducto at the plane, hoping against hope that the deck hands thought it was another rocket launcher and not magic as he stashed his wand away quickly as the plane fell out of the air and into the water below.

Nick gave him a smirk and Harry smiled back. Decoy and real threat terminated. Nick reported it into Maria, just as Natasha’s voice over the com said that she had found Doctor Selvig and together they could close the portal with the Sceptre that had been stolen from Harry’s body as he lay dying. Steve gave the order to close it and Harry almost fell into Nick’s arms in legless relief.

 

“I’m too old for this.” He commented.

 

“You’re eighteen years younger than I am.” Nick groused.

 

“That’s why I admire you so much and insist unrelentingly on you doing cardiovascular exercises.”

 

“Is that what you call it?”

 

“What would you call it?”

 

“Unrelenting pleasurable torture by my toyboy.”

 

Harry laughed loudly. “I’ve been demoted to a mere toyboy now have I?”

 

“It’s not a demotion, it’s fact, you are considerably younger than I am.”

 

“Does that make you my sugar daddy?” Harry teased, knowing that Nick wouldn’t like it.

 

“Never call me that again.”

 

“Then never call me a toyboy again.” He compromised easily and with a smile.

 

“Done deal.”

 

Harry kissed Nick before they made their way back to the bridge, with the portal closed the Avengers were on clean up, rounding up the stragglers and eliminating the aliens still running around Manhattan, from the commentary in his ear Harry gauged that they were making a game out of it, a game Thor seemed to like immensely as he joined in with Tony, Hulk and Clint enthusiastically. Steve and Natasha refused to play.

 

“How many approximately do you have left?” Harry asked as he slipped back into a chair, holding the back of his thigh, it hurt more than the other places he had been shot, but he could feel his body healing rapidly, he probably wouldn’t even scar from this.

 

“Not many are left now Agent Sexy.” Stark said through the com line. 

 

“Agent Sexy?” Clint questioned, Harry could practically hear the grin on his face. He was never going to live this down now that Clint knew.

 

“Head in the game Barton.” Harry growled. “Stark, you and I are going to have one hell of a talk after you’re back.”

 

“Is that a date offer?”

 

“No, it’s a, I’m going to beat you senseless with your own severed leg offer. You’re a man of knowledge, think of it as an experiment, will you die of blood loss first, or will your skull be reduced to mush before you bleed out. I’m personally hoping I can see your brilliant brain squandered all over the floor of the Helicarrier before you succumb to a painful, agonising death.”

 

Nick snorted and Harry shot a grin at him.

 

“Ow, not very friendly.” Stark answered. “And to answer your question, it would depend where my leg was severed, too high and I’ll bleed out before you can strike my skull enough times to cave it in.”

 

“So how far down to keep you alive? About five inches if I use a belt to stop you from bleeding to death?”

 

“About that.”

 

“Then it’s a date Stark, see you when you get back, Agent Sexy is waiting for you.” Harry cut the com connection and turned to his smirking lover. “Nick, Stark is expecting you when he arrives back.”

 

Nick snorted. “He thinks you’re ‘Agent Sexy.’”

 

“Yes, but I know you’re really Agent Sexy.”

 

“Technically I’m not an Agent, I’m the Director.”

 

“Since when have technicalities ever stopped you?” Harry chuckled.

 

“You have an answer for everything don’t you?”

 

“You know I do.”

 

“If I go near Stark I’ll tear his head from his body.”

 

“I love it when you get all aggressive, possessive and territorial.” Harry growled.

 

“What did the nurses say about your bite marks?”

 

Harry smiled. “She thought it was to do with my last mission, she seemed to think I’d run into a cannibal of some sort.”

 

Nick snorted and shook his head as the Avengers reported in to say the last few were being taken care of. Harry smiled.

 

“I told you the Avengers Initiative would work.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, you cocky little bastard.”

 

Harry laughed and settled in to wait for the Avengers to get back while Nick set about ordering clean-up crews and damage control to get Manhattan back up and running as soon as possible, the people needed normalcy now.

Harry actually hugged Clint when he came onto the bridge, grimy, bloody, but back to himself once more.

 

“How are you Agent Sexy? I heard you got shot up protecting Phil.”

 

Harry smiled. “I was helping him after his unfortunate run in with a dagger. Some lowlife got the drop on me and shot up my back, I’m fine though.”

 

“You should be in the med bay.”

 

“You should never have left.” Harry pointed out with a smile. “I’m fine and Phil’s going to be fine as well Clint.”

 

“Agent Sexy! Where’s my congratulatory hug?” Stark grinned as he held his arms out wide.

 

“You didn’t tell him?” Harry looked from Clint to Natasha.

 

“We thought it would best for him to dig his own grave a bit deeper before he got here. Six feet is the minimum requirement after all.” Natasha told him.

 

“What do you mean?” Tony asked, lowering his arms finally realising something was wrong.

 

Nick came and wrapped an arm around Harry’s slim waist and the eyes of the four Avengers who hadn’t known about their relationship widened.

 

“Didn’t you know that Agent Sexy was my long term partner Stark? I would have thought your little hacking trip into the S.H.I.E.L.D databases would have informed you of that, we do after all live together and both of our names are on the deeds.”

 

Harry grinned widely at Stark’s horrified face.

 

“You and Fury?” Stark asked. “Oh hell, what are you doing with him?”

 

Harry cocked his head to the side. “I don’t know what you mean.”

 

“You’re gorgeous, you have options!”

 

“You think I’m with Nick because I don’t have options?” Harry laughed. “I pursued Nick for a year before he gave in. I used to be his bodyguard.”

 

Tony’s eyes practically bugged out of his head as he looked from one to the other in complete confusion, Harry could almost see the wheels in his head turning rapidly.

 

“But you’re what, twenty-six? Fury’s fifty!”

 

Harry’s eyebrows rose. “I’m thirty-two.”

 

“That’s good genes.”

 

Harry smirked. “Flattery won’t dig you out of your grave Stark.”

 

“I’ve just saved the world, at least give me a head start?”

 

Harry laughed and threw an arm around Tony. “You’re alright for a complete dick, but call me any form of pet name again and all bets are off.”

 

“Deal.” Stark agreed quickly. “We should all go out for shawarma.”

 

“What the hell is shawarma?” Harry asked.

 

“No idea, but I want to try it.”

 

Harry snorted.

 

“We already have plans Stark.” Nick cut in, sliding his arm back around Harry’s waist possessively.

 

“It’s our eleven year anniversary next week; I’m being treated and pampered until the big day.” Harry explained.

 

“Eleven years with him? How are you still sane?”

 

 “Because I love him and his personality.”

 

“Fury has a personality?”

 

Harry smiled and shook his head. “You will never know or even meet the man I’ve fallen in love with, none of you will. That’s something just for me and I don’t care what you or anyone else thinks, we have been together for eleven years now and only we know how it happened, why we’re still together and the real story of our relationship and I want to keep it that way.”

 

It was silent for a few minutes after that before Tony, seemingly unable to help himself, piped up once again. “So, got any kids planned?”

 

Nick looked very unimpressed and Harry smiled. “Maybe we’ll look into adoption in a few more years.” Harry grinned. “But right now we’re very happy with it just being us, we like our private time together too much to interrupt it with a child at the moment.”

 

“Where’s Phil?” Clint wisely changed the subject as a tick started in Fury’s forehead.

 

“In the med bay Clint, he’s fine and he’ll make a full recovery.” Harry assured him. “Your lover is going to be fine.”

 

Clint went red, but he wandered off happily towards the med bay and Harry rested against Nick as the Avengers all turned to congratulate and converse with one another.

 

“I love you, you know.” Harry said softly. “I don’t care what anyone says or what names they call you, I still love you.”

 

“You _are_ going soft.”

 

“Say what you will, but I almost died today and we could have all died without the Avengers fighting for us, I’m allowed to reflect on my life and choices and come to the conclusion that I wouldn’t change a damn thing.”

 

Nick cuddled him tightly in a very, very rare show of public affection and Harry savoured it with a sigh.

 

“I love you too.” Was the almost silently breathed confession into his hair and Harry smiled, Nick didn’t have to say it out loud, he knew the man wasn’t big on public displays of affection or voicing his feelings, but Harry just knew that Nick did love him, which made the admitted words all the more special to him.

 

“I was thinking of spending the week up to our anniversary in bed, surely bringing together the Avengers and saving the world gives us a break from work. I have just been shot up too; I could use the bed rest.”

 

“That would probably be fine, but the bed rest you want isn’t restful at all and it won’t be for recovery purposes.” Nick smirked.

 

“True, but it will make me and my muscles stronger and I’ll feel better about the whole almost dying thing.”

 

“As soon as clean up’s done and I’ve reamed out the counsel for overriding me when the Avengers eliminated the threat only minutes after the nuke would have hit Manhattan, you can have whatever you want.”

 

Harry stayed close to Nick on the bridge, he had nowhere else to be and he didn’t really want to be away from him after the day he’d had. He was counting down the hours until he could crawl into bed, he didn’t care if that bed happened to be on the Helicarrier or back at their home, he just wanted a comfortable bed and to be spooned up with Nick.

It took a further nine hours before Harry was able to collapse into the bed on the Helicarrier, too tired to do anything other than strip himself off and burrow under the duvet. Nick always showered before bed, no matter what, no matter how tired he was, Harry preferred a morning shower, but sometimes they joined up for some wet, water fun, but tonight Harry just wanted to sleep and it helped his decision that the dressings on his body couldn’t get wet.

The bed dipped and Harry woke up immediately, panicked, but a familiar, soothing hand on his shoulder eased him back down to the mattress and calmed his racing heart. Nick slipped under the duvet, the both of them as naked as the day they were born and Harry rolled over to fit himself into the curve of Nick’s body, easily slipping off to sleep again as those arms surrounded him and pulled him in tighter.

Today would soon be a distant nightmare of the time when they almost lost one another, when one or both of them could have died, but they wouldn’t let a little thing like that bother them. It was hardly the first time one of them had almost died and it wouldn’t be the last, they had learned to get over such things rather quickly and they had found it easy to overcome the fear of losing one another, it would always be there in the backs of their minds, but it no longer ruled them or controlled them and now, after eleven years of being together, Harry was sure that they would be together forever. He was sure that he would always love Nick and that Nick would always love him, they just fit so well together it was impossible to imagine a life without Nick now and Harry wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------- X


	2. Keeping Promises

Chapter Two – Keeping Promises

 

A week after the invasion of Manhattan, Harry found himself seated in his favourite restaurant, sitting opposite his most loved person in the world at a very small, circular table dimly lit by a single red, thick pillar candle adorned with a ring of fake leaves.

Nick had ordered his favourite starter and his favourite meal for him, washed down with his most favourite red wine and Harry was so happy as they talked softly amid the quiet, gentle music in the background over Harry’s slice of treacle tart. Nick didn’t understand his love of the tart, Harry had given up explaining something that was nearly impossible to explain, he liked the treacle tart because he liked the flavour of it more than any other, that was good enough for him.

Harry pushed the plate away from himself once he was finished, laying his fork over it and he smiled at Nick’s expression, he had deliberately sucked and licked the fork exaggeratedly, just to tease and wind Nick up as a sort of prelude for what was to come.

 

“Are you ready for your extended dessert?” Nick asked him, his voice deep and gravelly.

 

“You mean am I ready to eat you? Oh yes.” Harry purred. “I’m very much ready and I’m eagerly anticipating it.”

 

“You’ve already had dessert; it’s my turn to eat you.” Nick growled back as he called for the bill to be brought to their table by a jumpy waiter.

 

“I still have the bruises from the last time you ate me.” Harry pointed out with a grin.

 

Their waiter for the evening brought their hefty bill over, looking relieved as he placed it in the middle of the table. The days of where Harry would fight Nick to pay his half of the bill, claiming he didn’t want to be some kept man, were long gone and he had since learned not to worry about the bills or the expense of anything, Nick was so much happier when he thought he was useful or doing something and since their wages now went into a joint account, Harry was sort of paying his way so he didn’t kick up a fuss at all as Nick took out his card and paid for their meal.

They walked out side by side and slipped into the car they were using for tonight, of course it was Nick’s car and not his own, but again he didn’t mind, he didn’t feel like driving as he slipped over as much as his seatbelt allowed him to nibble on Nick’s neck and tease the skin he could find with his fingertips.

 

“You’re going to cause a crash.” Nick growled.

 

“You’re too good a driver.” Harry murmured as he licked up Nick’s neck with the tip of his tongue, still sweet from his tart.

 

Nick put his foot down to get home sooner and Harry smiled against his skin as he touched and caressed him, sucking and kissing. They made it home in record time and Nick took off both of their seatbelts and Harry found himself being dragged from the car through the driver’s side door.

Harry was carried into the house and he laughed at his lover’s show of dominancy and strength.

 

“I have legs Nick.” He said light heartedly, not complaining in the least, just stating a fact.

 

“I don’t want you running away once I get you to the bedroom.” Nick hissed into his ear.

 

“Why would I run from you?”

 

“To tease me more, you’ve done it before remember.”

 

“That was once!” Harry laughed. “Or five.”

 

“You’d do it just to tease me further and I want you naked in our bed as soon as we get to the bedroom.”

 

“Now that’s just unfair.” Harry complained as he was carried up the stairs easily.

 

“Why is it?”

 

“Because I wouldn’t be able to carry you even if you would allow me try.” Harry grinned, mentally adding the ‘without magic’ part. He had long ago sworn that he wouldn’t use his magic on Nick unless it was an emergency or to save his life and he took that promise very seriously; Nick wasn’t a man who dealt with having his control taken from him very well.

 

“Let’s keep it that way.” Nick groused.

 

Harry was tipped backwards onto the bed and he chuckled as he let himself sprawl on the covers, letting Nick look his fill before tugging his own shirt and tie off to bare his chest to a single, watchful dark eye.

 

“You said I had to be naked as soon as I hit the bedroom, I’m still dressed Nick.”

 

“I can fix that easily enough.” Nick smirked as he used deft hands to strip his lover as quickly as he could.

 

Harry squirmed on the cool bed sheets once he was naked, partly to get used to the feel of it against his warm, bare skin, but mostly to tease Nick who was watching him with his good eye burning in desire.

 

“Are you going to join me or just watch me?” Harry asked softly as he looked up at Nick through his eyelashes, wriggling himself on the bed and moving his hand to touch himself.

 

Nick’s hand intercepted it and he slipped onto the bed, straddling Harry and pinning his arms above his head.

 

“You’re still dressed.”

 

Nick quirked an eyebrow. “Sometimes I wonder how you passed your observational training for S.H.I.E.L.D, what with your unrelenting need to state the obvious.”

 

Harry chuckled and rolled himself up to wrap his legs around Nick’s waist.

 

“It was less of an observation and more a question of why are you still dressed.” Harry reiterated with a cheeky smile.

 

“Because it’s more fun to see you this way.”

 

“It’s not fun for me.” Harry frowned.

 

Nick kissed that frown from Harry’s mouth as he sat up and slipped his suit jacket from his upper body. Harry’s hands went to his tie and pulled him down into a kiss as elegant, slender fingers undid the knot and threw the tie away without needing to look at it.

 

“This is supposed to be your special present.” Nick told him.

 

“And I’m very much enjoying it, but I’ll enjoy it even more if you get out of your damn clothes.”

 

Nick smirked. “I love how demanding you can be.”

 

“I thought you hated it.” Harry said with a cocked eyebrow.

 

“Only outside of this bed, on it, you’re free to be as demanding as you like. Within reason.” Nick hastily tacked onto the end and Harry, who had opened his mouth to speak, let out a laugh.

 

“Within reason? And who gets to decide if it’s within reason Nick?”

 

“I do.” Nick answered shortly as he dropped his head to lick and nibble along Harry’s gorgeous, pale neck.

 

“That hardly seems fair.” Harry protested as Nick released him to undo his belt buckle.

 

“Are you going to complain the whole night? Because I have to say if you are I’ll have no choice but to gag you with your own sock.”

 

“Damn, I thought you were going to offer to gag me with your briefs, if that was the case, then yes please.”

 

Nick couldn’t stop the dark chuckle that slipped from his throat as he shoved the last of his clothing off of his body and onto the floor and pinned Harry back to the bed, pressing their bodies together and rubbing over his lover’s skin.

 

“Oh, I love it when you do that.”

 

“I know.” Was the only answer Nick gave as he buried his head in Harry’s neck, biting and sucking harshly to make his mark.

 

“Please do something!” Harry begged him.

 

“I am doing something.” Nick pointed out, holding Harry’s hands tighter when he struggled to break his grasp.

 

“Something else! I’ve been aching for you all night, you don’t know how many times I wanted to leap over that damn table and have you right there in the middle of the restaurant!”

 

“Why didn’t you?” Nick asked deeply as he moved down Harry’s body.

 

“I knew you wouldn’t approve. You don’t like public sex because you hate showing my body off to other people. That’s why we don’t mention that mission that shall no longer be mentioned.”

 

“I told you to stop bringing that up! To never mention it again!” Nick hissed furiously. “Especially not when we’re in bed together!”

 

Nick’s grip had tightened and his bites turned painful, but he knew from the look on Harry’s face that he had brought up that mission purposefully, the little bastard.

He hated being reminded of what Harry had had to do to get information whilst on a mission, letting some wannabe big shot touch him up in front of all his sniggering minions to get a heads up on the hostile mark, it made his rage burn white hot, no one other than himself was allowed to see or touch Harry’s body and that someone had thought they could do such a thing to Harry made his fists clench. He would have killed that bastard himself if Harry hadn’t already done so and disposed of him after he had gotten the information he needed. It still made him angry to hear that mission mentioned though and the drive to mark and display Harry as his increased.

A particularly harsh bite had Harry letting out a soft gasping moan and arching under him and Nick smirked, he loved Harry like this, so pliant and agreeable underneath him, too bad it didn’t work outside of the bedroom as well, he’d have a much easier, quieter life if it did.

Nick almost gasped, but managed to turn it into a manlier grunt, as he was suddenly rolled onto his back, an impishly grinning Harry sat astride his hips.

 

“You’re more distracted than usual when we’re in bed together, normally you’re completely focused on me and the pleasure at hand, what’s on your mind Nick?”

 

“You’re thirty-two, how do you have the reactions of a teenager still?” Nick avoided.

 

Harry’s grin widened. “Perks of magic I’m afraid, I started to age slower once I reached adulthood. When you’re old and grey…well when you’re eyebrows and beard are grey at least, you’ll still be banging a guy with the body of a teenager. How does that make you feel?”

 

Nick chuckled, before gripping Harry while he was off guard and rolling him back onto his back, pinning his hips down so he couldn’t use the momentum to roll him back over.

 

“As long as that guy with the teenaged body still loves that old grey man, I don’t think I much care.”

 

Harry smiled softly them. “I think he very much will Nick. Eleven years today, fuck where did the time go?”

 

Nick let a small amount of softness creep into his one good eye and let his mouth relax into a smile. “I think we spend our time wisely.”

 

Harry’s grin widened as he felt fingers tracing over the entrance to his body.

 

“I can’t argue with that.” He said before he broke off with a low groan as his body was breached.

 

Eleven years together had given them a knowledge of the other’s body that allowed them to precisely and carefully move with one another to achieve ultimate pleasure. Harry smiled before his back was forced into arching once more by Nick’s fingers inside him. It really was time well spent and he would never regret chasing Nick so hard. How could he? He had found his soul mate in Nick, they were not quite opposites, but they were by no means two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Their arguments were legendary, often violent and loud, but the make-up sex after a week of forced, angry separation was mind blowing. They agreed on some points, disagreed heavily on others, but even at twenty, he had come to love the stern, distant man, who had somehow found it in his heart to love him back, a crazy, battle hardened twenty year old who had been forced on the older man as a bodyguard.

It sounded crazy, and it truly had been, Harry remembered spending half of his time running after a fleeing Nick shouting incredibly loudly that he was his bodyguard and that Nick couldn’t just run away from when he felt like it and the other half trying to get the man onto a date with him.

A year it had taken him to finally get the man to agree to a date, a year after that all the hostile magical threats at large had been captured or killed and Harry was no longer needed to be Nick’s personal bodyguard, but Harry had refused to leave America to go back to Britain, he had instead applied for S.H.I.E.L.D training and another three years after that he had completed all training, passed all of his tests to standard and proven himself capable and he had been accepted as a junior field Agent. He had risen through the ranks, taking medical training, even going in for Healer training at the same time, and here he was today, a senior Agent, Nick’s right hand man and still just as in love as he had been at twenty.

 

“Something on your mind?” Nick asked with a quirked eyebrow.

 

Harry smiled. “Only you. It seems this year, and the near death experiences it has brought, keeps bringing up when we first met, those early years keep popping into my head and I’ve realised that I love you just as much now as I did when I was twenty and trying to force you into accepting that I was your bodyguard whether you liked it or not. But Nick, ignoring all soft, soppiness now, I really am glad we met and that you gave me a chance.”

 

“God, you’re really going all out this year.” Nick groaned, resting his weight on Harry and breathing out deeply.

 

“I know it makes you uncomfortable, I just wanted you to know that I still love you, it wasn’t just a child’s crush as you tried to tell me so many times.”

 

Nick snorted. “I obviously have come to realise that on my own.” He insisted. “A child’s crush wouldn’t have lasted eleven years. I tried to pass your love off as anything so I wouldn’t have to deal with it; I just couldn’t understand why anyone like you would be in love with me of all people.”

 

“You’re an idiot. Anyone would be damn lucky to have you.” Harry insisted furiously.

 

Nick grinned at that and pushed his fingers back into Harry, watching his eyes flutter shut and his breath escape him on a moan. He loved watching Harry react to him, it never got old.

 

“Then you should be very happy to know that it’s you who has me.” Nick hissed into Harry’s ears, smirking as Harry nodded, too overwhelmed to speak.

 

Nick prepared him quickly, before removing his fingers and rolling over to grip Harry’s hands again, lacing their fingers together.

 

“Please.” Harry whispered softly, his eyes blinking open to look at him through those gorgeously thick lashes. Nick loved Harry’s eyes; they were definitely in the top five of his favourite things about him. 

 

Nick didn’t keep Harry waiting, he never did, unless he was in a truly sadistic mood, then he could tie Harry up and keep him hard and wanting for hours, but that was usually only on his birthday, or when Harry went on a particularly long and dangerous mission, he’d take him hard and fast first, just to reunite them, then he’d keep them in bed for a day or two, sexually torturing Harry until neither of them could take any more.

Nick pressed into Harry with one long, smooth motion of his hips that had Harry throwing his head back and sliding it against the sheets in a restless movement that never failed to arouse him more. He let Harry adjust to him for a moment for the sake of comfort, before he pulled out and pushed back in slowly, letting their bodies get used to one another, before he really started getting into the rhythm, pinning Harry’s hands to the bed, stretched over his head when he tried to move them, but allowing his legs to curl up to slip around his waist. He loved how flexible Harry was, it was a rare trait in thirty-two year old men, but Harry was not a normal man by a long shot. He loved that too.

Putting his all into the moment, Nick refused to slow down or stop until he had Harry screaming for him, the younger man’s body tensed all over before the liquid heat smeared over his belly and Nick let himself go into the clenching channel of Harry’s body, his back and legs aching fiercely.

Harry would be aching come tomorrow morning, but so would he, for different reasons, but not exactly, but that’s the way he liked it and he wouldn’t have it any other way, he loved Harry, he really did and knowing that Harry returned those feelings made the cranky, grumpy part of him lighter, just a bit, though he wouldn’t show that to anyone other than the man currently mewling like a kitten and trying to curl his unresponsive body into a ball.

Nick snorted and moved himself to the head of the bed, dragging Harry up with him and he settled his lover down before reaching for the duvet to drag over them both, he switched off the bedside lamps and pulled Harry into his arms.

 

“Happy anniversary Harry.” He said softly.

 

“Love you.” Was the quietly tired, but sated and happy reply.

 

Nick smiled in the dark of their bedroom and breathed out deeply. Their bed was the one place he could truly relax and be himself and it was because of Harry that that could happen. He felt so comfortable with Harry now that he no longer felt the need to hide any part of himself from the man lying beside him and eleven years would all too quickly turn into twenty and then forty years. Of that he was sure, he was just unsure if the both of them would be around to celebrate it with the careers they had chosen, but either way, though he didn’t say it aloud often, he loved Harry dearly and he would happily hold the man in his arms every night he was able for the rest of their lives.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X

 

Harry woke up the next morning with a groan and he rolled over into a groove left by Nick’s body, it was cold. He blinked his eyes open and found the bed empty. He sat up and looked around desperately but the bathroom door was wide open, unoccupied and there were no sounds in the house.

Harry fell back onto the bed and huffed out a sigh. Nick had forgotten the second part of his promise. The part where he promised to still be in bed the next morning. If the man was already in work, Harry was going to strangle him with a shoelace. So lost in thought Harry missed the front door opening and the hushed steps on the stairs, he didn’t miss their bedroom door opening however.

 

“What’s wrong?” Nick asked as he toed his shoes off and brought a paper bag over, his other hand balancing a cardboard holder with two takeaway cups of coffee in it.

 

Harry grinned and flung the duvet back so Nick could climb back into the bed.

 

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

 

Nick however wasn’t the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D because he was the best kiss arse in the company. He wasn’t blind, even if he did only have one eye.

 

“You thought I’d forgotten my promise to stay in bed with you.”

 

Harry huffed. “Okay, I did. But then I didn’t actually expect you to go out to get breakfast when we have all we need here.”

 

“I don’t do cooking, you should know that. I survived mainly on take away and coffee before you came into my life.”

 

“I would have done it.” Harry stressed. “You only needed to get coffee and I know you can do that by yourself.”

 

“This weekend is for you, I won’t see you cooking.”

 

Harry rolled his eyes. “It’s your anniversary too you know. I’m making your favourite dinner tonight, no arguments, so you had better be home on time, seeing as you took me to my favourite restaurant last night.”

 

“Sound’s good, but this morning, I don’t want you leaving this bed.”

 

Harry chuckled but they were interrupted by Harry’s phone going off.

 

“Whoever the fuck that is, tell them I’ll shoot them between the eyes if they don’t fuck off now.” Nick grumbled as Harry answered his phone, giving a warning glare to his lover.

 

It took Harry five minutes to finish his call and when he did, Nick was sipping his coffee with a face like thunder.

 

“It was Clint; he said to wish us a belated happy anniversary because he knew we wouldn’t want to be disturbed yesterday. He and Coulson are at Headquarters and are sorting things out.”

 

“Tell him not to disturb us today either.” Nick growled.

 

“What would we do without Clint and Phil?” Harry asked seriously.

 

“I’d already be in work for one.” Nick relented.

 

“Exactly, they’re sending us a gift over later today as well, so be nice.”

 

Nick snorted. “It can go with the other useless crap we’ve been sent then.”

 

Harry blinked. “What?”

 

“The good Captain sent us a lovely bunch of tulips. Apparently it’s traditional. He’s lucky I don’t shove them in the blender with his head.”

 

Harry stifled a chuckle. He’d have to ask Steve what the hell he was thinking sending them flowers of all things.

 

“Stark sent us another traditional gift, apparently an eleven year anniversary is steel, so he sent us a steel cock ring.”

 

Harry almost choked on his laughter.

 

“It would be funny and a very good gift, except it looks like he has made it himself and I don’t trust him not to have done something to it.”

 

That made Harry laugh harder, Nick just snorted and pulled him into the side of his body and waited for him to calm down before handing him his coffee, his favourite blend, just how he liked it. Harry smiled as he sipped at it.

 

“Maria sent us matching steel watches and Natasha gave us a pair of matching guns, very nice ones with custom holsters.”

 

“Oh, I’ll have to thank them, I need a new watch after my old one was taken from me and a new gun is always appreciated.” Harry smiled.

 

Nick snorted and dug out a breakfast bagel and a blueberry muffin and handed it to Harry, digging out his own as they ate in bed in comfortable silence.

Very few mornings were spent together; Nick was normally awake, up, full of coffee and in work shouting at idiots by seven in the morning and Harry would join him at nine, but today, he could take a morning off to spend some time with Harry, it was hardly a punishment, he liked spending time with Harry, not that he’d tell anyone else that he did and if anyone would dare ask him personally, he’d remain an air of stony silence, it was none of their business what he did with Harry.

 

“You’ve got that scowl on your face again.” Harry pointed out, that cheeky grin on his lips that Nick refused to admit that he found endearing. “What are you thinking about?”

 

“The idiots at work.” Nick relented.

 

Harry snorted. “Stop thinking about work when you’re in bed with me. You promised me sex once breakfast was over and I’ve finished eating.” Harry threw his paper over the side of the bed and turned in Nick’s hold, sitting to straddle his thighs.

 

Nick smirked as he put his coffee cup onto the nightstand. “Is that so? Well we can’t have you slipping on your exercise regime now, can we?”

 

“Absolutely not, you love my body; I have to keep it in good condition.”

 

“I’d love you no matter what you looked like.”

 

“That’s so sweet of you to say, what was in your coffee?” Harry teased, loving the attention and the rare softness.

 

Nick didn’t answer, but instead rolled until Harry was on his back between his arms, legs still on either side of Nick’s body.

 

“Let’s get your morning exercise out of the way; I don’t think I can deal with the idiots at work without having this moment to relax with you first.”

 

Harry laughed as he kissed Nick’s mouth. “I doubt a full week of continuous sex could help calm you down enough to deal with the idiots at work.”

 

“We could try it.” Nick smirked.

 

Harry laughed. “There’s too many idiots in work, your good mood wouldn’t last more than a few hours.”

 

“I don’t care, I always keep my promises and I promised to feed you breakfast in bed and to have sex with you afterwards before we went to work and for you, I’d do anything.”

 

“I know, but I hope you know I would do anything for you too.”

 

“I know.”

 

Nick grinned predatory as he pinned Harry down once again and set about marking him all over again between removing the clothing he had put on to go and get breakfast for them both.

People could laugh and snigger behind his back and call him soppy or say he was going soft, but he knew that he wasn’t. He loved Harry and he would always love Harry, he was secure enough to show that love to Harry without jeopardising their relationship, no one’s whispered words behind his back was worth destroying the best damn thing that had ever happened to him, but he also made sure to send the bastards who had snidely said such things behind his back were sent on the earliest mission to the most remote and uncomfortable places on Earth, even making up missions to send them on if a real mission wasn’t immediately apparent or far enough away.

He smirked sharply and darkly as he thought about it, even as Harry gasped softly underneath him as he sunk his teeth into his neck. Harry was his, everyone else was just jealous that he had him and they could stay jealous, because if they dared touch what was his, they’d end up with a broken arm and a mission on the other side of the world. No one got away with saying such things to or about him, and he just dared them to say anything about Harry.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am so sorry it’s taken me this long to get the second part of this out, but sex scenes really can’t be rushed and if it doesn’t come, it doesn’t come, but I tried my best.   
> I’m not entirely sure I kept Fury in character with this chapter, so I’m worrying over that, but without any other character in this chapter for him to interact with, he doesn’t really show the sternness from the previous chapter as he isn’t like that with Harry any longer.  
> To those readers who wanted me to show how Harry and Fury first met, keep an eye out for it, if you’re on my Facebook page, you’ll be kept updated of its progress and such things, if not, look out for it in the coming months. It’ll likely be another one-shot or a small ficlet and be prepared for Fury being a bastard to poor Harry, he really did not like the thought of having little twenty year old Harry as a bodyguard.  
> To all of you who reviewed and told me what you thought, thank you, I never imagined having so many reviews for such a strange, abnormal pairing, but the idea wouldn’t leave me alone and I had to do it and I have to say it’s been to amazing response too! So thank you all for that it’s been an amazing experience.  
> I hope you have all enjoyed this final chapter, the story of how they met will be out when I get a bit of free time spare to work on it, thank you for reading, it was a great pleasure,
> 
> StarLight Massacre. X

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is my take on the Nick/Harry pairing for my own challenge of doing every male Avengers character paired with Harry. There will be one more chapter and it will contain scenes of a sexual nature, so if you don’t want to read about that then consider this a one-shot and leave it at that.  
> My Clint/Harry fic is going well, Nick/Harry is completed and next up is Bruce/Harry and Tony/Harry, and following that will be Coulson/Harry and Steve/Harry. Thor/Harry and Loki/Harry will come later I think but I’ll keep those of you on my Facebook page updated.  
> Anyway, thank you all for reading and reviewing, let me know what you think and feel about this, I really want feedback to see if I got Fury’s character down more than anything, it was a challenge and was difficult at times to still keep him Fury, but showing him as human enough to have a long term lover. I think I did alright, but let me know what you thought of it.
> 
> StarLight Massacre. X


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